A Review of 2017…..

With Christmas fast approaching, we are hitting the season for last minute food shops and late gifts for friends and family. Many of us still somehow end up searching for that booking reference for the deluxe turkey we reserved in October… still, despite the usual frantic activity, we’ve managed to take a look back over another successful year…

It’s been a record breaker! We have received more client funds to invest this year than in any year in our history, taking on over £70 million in new monies. We thank our clients and our professional partners sincerely for their continued support. We expect our client assets to progress through £500m next year, and every pound is a privilege!

From a charitable perspective, our team have been hard at work consistently throughout 2017. Of specific note would be our end of year bake-off (the brownies are to die for!), and our annual Static Bike Ride (our team cycled over 600km in 10 hours). On these two occasions, all funds were donated to one of our charities of choice; the Children’s Bereavement Centre. With the help of our professional connections, we have also been building momentum to raise money for Newark Rugby Club, as well as providing regular support for our local hospice Beaumond House. Overall, I would say it’s been our best year for community support.

Staff wise we have had two retirees. David Reynolds retired in the summer, some15 years after we acquired Newark Insurance Services, and Bernard Gallimore retired in April following our acquisition of his business in 2012.  As you would expect, we saw them both off with a fond farewell, and will be keeping in touch with them over the years ahead to stay in tune with their retirement journeys. As with the evolution of life, this summer also saw another successful year for our graduate internship programme. Declan Gamble joined permanently this September with a first-class honours degree in Economics, Finance and Banking from Nottingham Trent University. I’ve got to give it to him, he’s got an interesting name, given that he is an investment analyst!

Looking back over the recent history of our business, and being mindful that with each year that passes in our business and our lives, it and we evolve, I would like to share with you a piece that I read recently that really struck home. The author is unknown, but I am sure the detail will also resonate with many of you:

The Train

At birth we boarded the train and met our parents, and we believe they will always travel by our side. As time goes by, other people will board the train; and they will be significant i.e. our siblings, friends, children, and even the love of your life. However, at some station our parents will step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone. Others will step down over time and leave a permanent vacuum. Some, however, will go so unnoticed that we don’t realize they vacated their seats. This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, goodbyes, and farewells. Success consists of having a good relationship with all passengers requiring that we give the best of ourselves.

The mystery to everyone is: We do not know at which station we ourselves will step down. So, we must live in the best way, love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are. It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our seat empty we should leave behind beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.

We are privileged that our clients engage us to help them through their journey. It’s a journey that unifies all of us.  We very much look forward to the journey into 2018, where we hope to improve what we do and to exceed your expectations wherever possible.

To finish with a bit of humour, if you are interested in crazy Christmas stories, here is Richard Wilson, one of our Senior Risk Consultants sharing his memory from twelve months ago…

Richard Wilson’s #ExpectTheUnexpected

Please note that we have decided to give the team a break and our office will close on Friday 22^nd December and will reopen on Tuesday 2^nd January 2018. 

May we take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a restful New Year.